A-TACS BDUs - Gear Week/Camo Week

Let's start off the camo week (you can read about the problems that have been occurring with Google's blogging service here) here on Grey Ops by doing a crossover of sorts. I was recently given the awesome opportunity to take a look at Propper's new Army Combat Uniform in the A-TACS pattern. I put it through its paces at a field Mike and myself will be frequenting a lot this summer (Tactik in Gatineau) and here are my impressions (less talk more pictures):

A lot of camouflage gear has the problem of not being dead on with the colour correct pattern, no such issues here! In the picture above I placed the Propper ACU top next to the colour correct A-TACS swatch I have, perfect match down to the exact tone.

Lots of little pockets all over the place, if you can find them!

Gotta love the mandarin style collar.

 I practiced pistol mag reloads out of the tilted chest pockets, makes for a good alternative if you're carrying a super light set-up and don't want to bother with a vest.

A nice little touch, cord locks with an elastic pullstring on the large pant pockets. I managed to fit two extra Milsig mags into the pockets easily during a couple games.

Pink paintball marks, the bane of light coloured BDUs.

My overall impression of the BDUs is very favourable. This is my first experience with Propper merchandise, and I found the construction and design of the uniform to be excellent. The day I played in them it was fairly hot and still a little bit humid, but they breathed nicely. Elbows and knees have pockets available that you can fill with pads to protect your joints, and there is a bevy of pockets that you can hold everything from magazines to pens in. A-TACS gear is finding its way to the mass market, and I'm sure we can look forward to lots of new offerings in the near future. 

The Grey Ops crew will hopefully be visiting Operation Craig/PRZ again in the near future, and I'll be able to get some POUT (paintball operations in urban terrain) action out of the A-TACS gear. Stay tuned for pictures/impressions of how A-TACS works in dilapidated indoor environment, and I'll be sure to update as to how the A-TACS pattern holds up in the wash.

A special thanks to the guys at DCS and Propper for helping me out with this post!